Testament of Issachar

By Scriptural Research Institute

The Testament of Issachar, like the other Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, is considered to be a Jewish work that was added to by Christians in the Christian era. It is unclear when it comes from, however, fragments of the Testaments of Joseph and Levi have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls in Aramaic, dating to between 135 and 37 BC, implying the rest of the Twelve were compiled at the same time. As the Testament of Issachar has some of the same anti-Levitical content as the Testament of Levi, it was likely a text written by the Tobian Jews (Τουβιανοὺς Ιουδαίους) mentioned in 2nd Maccabees, that lived in Seleucid controlled regions.

In the early Christian era, many Testaments of the Patriarchs circulated in Jewish and Christian communities, the foremost being the Testaments of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The other major testaments were grouped together as the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, which included the Testaments of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, and Benjamin. These testaments were widely accepted by the early Christian churches, and continue to form part of the Armenian Bible. The books were popular in Western Europe during the Middle Ages when they were generally considered authentic ancient Jewish texts. Critical analysis in the 16th century changed the view of Protestants and Catholics, as scholars at the time came to the belief that the texts were written in the early Christian era, likely in Greek. Subsequently, the texts fell out of favor in most parts of Europe. However, Hebrew fragments of the Testaments of the Patriarchs were discovered in the 20th century among the Dead Sea Scrolls, proving the texts were originally written in Aramaic and Hebrew. The current academic view is that there was a simpler Hebrew Jewish version that was then updated in the early Christian era by Greek speakers that added the Christian prophesies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Scriptural Research Institute
• Release date: Jan 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781989604830

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Copyright

WHILE EVERY PRECAUTION has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

TESTAMENT OF ISSACHAR

First edition. January 2, 2020.

Copyright © 2020 Scriptural Research Institute.

ISBN: 978-1-989604-83-0

The Testament of Issachar was likely composed in Aramaic between 300 and 50 BC.

The Testament of Issachar was likely translated into Greek and Hebrew before 50 BC.

The Testament of Issachar was translated into Armenian by 1666.

This English translation was created by the Scriptural Research Institute in 2020.

The image used for the cover is ‘Joseph with Jacob in Egypt’ by Pontormo, painted in 1515.

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IN THE EARLY CHRISTIAN era, many Testaments of the Patriarchs circulated in Jewish and Christian communities, the foremost being